Saturday, December 27, 2014

Manhattan Bridge opened to traffic December 31, 1909. Rosetta was about a month-and-a-half old.

Historic Milestones

Under construction in March 1909

Rosetta was not quite a month and a half old on Dcember 31,
1909, the day the Manhattan Bridge. a suspension
bridge that crosses the East River in New
York City, connecting Lower Manhattan at Canal Street with Brooklyn at the
Flatbush
Avenue Extension officially opened.

At 2:00 pm, the 6,855-foot-long (2,089 m)Manhattan Bridgewas opened to traffic, after eight years and26 million dollars had been spent on its construction. New
York City MayorGeorge Brinton McClellan, Jr., who was on the last day of his term of office,
rode in the first automobile of a motorcade from Manhattan to Brooklyn.

Full span with the Brooklyn Bridge below it

The Manhattan Bridge was the last of the three suspension
bridges built across the lower East River, following the Brooklyn
and the Williamsburg bridges. It has four vehicle lanes
on the upper level, split between two roadways. The lower level has three
lanes, four subway tracks, a walkway and a bikeway. The
upper level, originally used for streetcars,
has two lanes in each direction, and the lower level is one-way and has three
lanes in peak direction. The bridge once carried New York State Route 27 and later was
planned to carry Interstate 478.

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Rosetta the Dancing Queen

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Now available in Kindle and Paperback

ABOUT ROSETTA

Born in 1909, Rosetta was the youngest of ten children in a zany immigrant family. She talks about growing up in the early 1900s when cars were still being developed, very few people had telephones or radios and getting an education beyond grammar school was a privilege for children in families of modest means.

Laughter was Rosetta's companion throughout her long llife--nearly 97 years, and she had the ability to inspire others to achieve beyond what they thought possible.

Her handwritten memoir was turned into "Can We Come In and Laugh, Too?", now available in paperback and digital editions. So grab a comfortable chair and share a bit of laughter with her.